The Vivienne Files

Capsule wardrobes inspired by art and nature

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Part 1 November 2022: Six Scarves, 12 Months

November 2, 2022

What do you do when you've got a real longing for some new clothes?

What about when you're in a store, and you decide you're going to shop?

That's what I'm thinking about this month... Our first heroine wanders into Boden, and wander out with some interesting things!

Remember, her inspiration is this scarf:

Our heroine was pretty disciplined - she stayed with green and pink accents for her purchases... The sweater, though...

When she brings her new things home (or when they are delivered, more likely!), she can see that the pants blend in perfectly, her green silk top goes with a lot of things, and the paisley sweater... is lovely.

Maybe this is the time for her to remember that her entire ... View the Post

Part 1 October 2022: Six Scarves, 12 Months

October 3, 2022

Time to augment these wardrobes in some intelligent way!

If you build a wardrobe outfit by outfit, you'll eventually reach a point where you have plenty of "bottoms" but not really enough tops. Since tops are more memorable, usually need to be laundered more often, and provide more of the visual interest of your outfits, it's normal for most of us to have 2 tops (at least) for each bottom. Additionally, I like to have almost as many 2nd layers as I have bottoms.

Your feeling about this can certainly be different! But for our heroines, this is a month to stock up on things for above the waist:

I debated with myself about including the Fair Isle sweater here. It doesn't really perfectly match the brown of our ... View the Post

Five Accent Colors with Winter White and with Beige

September 30, 2022

Why yes, Pantone found additional colors at New York Fashion Week...

Which is fine with me, because I could look at accessories 'til the cows come home! And since I live in the city, that would be forever, right?

Let's start with this classic red; yes, this scarf is an investment. But you could wear it at least once a week during cool weather, for the rest of your life. I'm finding that I have some scarves that 20+ years old, and that I still adore. 

I've chosen ivory (Winter White?) and beige as our wardrobe core colors to "test drive" this batch of accent colors. While I wouldn't wear white pumps in this lifetime, I know a LOT of women who wear them through the year and look just lovely.

And ... View the Post

Japanese 24 Seasons of the Year – Hakuro White Dew

September 7, 2022

I'm taking a break in the "6 Scarves, 12 Months" so that I'm not late with today's new season!

When she was out walking around the city on Labor Day weekend, she saw all sorts of people who had to bundle up at short notice - the day was VERY cool...

She kept seeing people wearing what she thought were simple crewneck sweaters in all kinds of colors... until she got near a woman at a cross-walk, and saw that she was actually wearing a sweatshirt!

Hmm... she realized that a clean, unwrinkled sweatshirt doesn't have to look like you're cleaning the garage. And they're pretty easy to take care of too!

Now, to choose a color:

 

She isn't opposed to wearing white jeans in cold weather, ... View the Post

Part 1 August 2022: Six Scarves, 12 Months

August 1, 2022

We're going to have to do the "Six Scarves, 12 Months" posts in segments this month, because it's just THAT difficult... I hate not finishing in 1 post, but I have to admit when I can't finish in time!

This is a great lesson for how to handle shopping when everything in the marketplace seems to conspire against you.

In a "normal" year, I could easily expect to see piles of cashmere sweaters in 30 colors all OVER the retail world - but not this year...

Websites should be chock-full of cabled sweaters, and corduroy pants, and tweed blazers, and all of the traditional garments of autumn. But not this year!

It might be reluctance to stock merchandise that may not appeal - nobody's really sure how people are going ... View the Post

July 2022 Start with a Bracelet: The Heritage Lynx Bracelets

July 29, 2022 Her Great-Grandmother... gardened, and harvested edible wild plants and flowers. Our heroine has all of the notebooks that she kept from her garden and from the forests on her property...

Now, she travels to teach any group of people who want to learn what she learned from her great-grandmother! This long weekend, she's headed up into the far north to a small school that specializes in traditional crafts and folklore...

The weather will probably be cool...

Generally speaking, these events are VERY casual, but she's learned that it is wise to have a skirt with her, just in case!

And she likes to pack shorts, no matter how cool the weather will be. There's just nothing like hiking in the forest, wearing ... View the Post

July 2022: Six Scarves, 12 Months

July 4, 2022

My emails tend to come in waves, topic-wise. Recently, it seems that a great many people are concerned about having to return to "real life," be that an office, or lunch dates that used to be regularly scheduled, or other social gatherings that have been cancelled for the last 2 years.

So this month I think that our heroines are going to all look for a dressy-ish outfit that resembles either a suit or includes a skirt... Good for work, good for social events, good for worship services...

First up, if you have to go to an office, you can pretend that you're wearing a suit, if your pants and shirt-jacket are made of the same fabric!

Our heroine now has a 25-piece wardrobe, which makes getting dressed pretty ... View the Post

Start with Art: The Golden Stairs by Sir Edward Coley Burney-Jones

June 24, 2022

Yes, you saw this painting a long time ago! That heroine was also traveling for a family celebration...

Let's take a close-up look at a bunch of these lovely ladies, and enjoy the color palette...

Our heroine is off for a quick weekend trip to a family wedding! She's taking Friday off of work, so that she will arrive early in the afternoon - certainly early enough for lunch with relatives, and possibly early enough for a quick nap:

Because the partying starts tonight, with the rehearsal and the following dinner, and then of course the wedding on Saturday! By Sunday, she just needs to drag herself to brunch before they run out of coffee, and then sleep on the train on the way home!

She wants to ... View the Post

One Way to Get to Project 333

June 22, 2022

By this time of year, most of us should be easily able to whittle down our warm-weather wardrobe to a tidy 33 pieces. While this is NOT what Courtney Carver suggests for her Project 333, I'm pretty confident that she wouldn't be too upset with us starting at this point. So long as we look seriously at our wardrobes from time to time, she will probably approve!

buy her book and read it; trust me!

How to minimize what's in one's closet is a question that I am asked almost every day, and thus I keep thinking of different ways that someone could go about eliminating a big chunk of their wardrobe... Let me share one idea!

Let's start here - I think (but am by no means sure!) that there are 69 garments here... If all of ... View the Post

Start with Art: Miami Day by Andrew Lennon

June 10, 2022

She Knows NOTHING About Packing for a Cruise....

So her plan is to pack a normal suitcase for a trip this long, to the river district of Germany, and then let all of her friends make suggestions!

As always, she's going to travel in her favorite outfit. There's no reason to wear anything else; she might have to wear this outfit for a LONG time, depending on the timely arrival of her luggage!

Before she starts packing any other colors or fabrics or styles, she wants to "finish" her black, dressy cluster. Why NOT bring a pretty ruana?

She's been promised some very warm days - surely shorts will be appropriate for sightseeing somewhere along the way? She loves the way her "deep midnight" clothes contrast ... View the Post

Japanese 24 Seasons of the Year – Bōshu, Grain in Ear

June 8, 2022

Time flies when the weather is lovely!

These Are NOT Gardening Clothes... These are sitting on the back porch admiring your garden clothes...

These are clothes for walking around your neighborhood, admiring other gardens...

These are clothes to wear while sitting on the porch swing, discussing how many raised garden beds you can fit on your lot...

These are clothes to wear when you're watching your friends and family play sports...

These are clothes for the backyard barbecue, picnic, fire pit, marshmallow toasting...

These are clothes for sitting under the trees, snipping the ends off of green beans...

These are clothes to wear when taking baskets of fresh vegetables to your ... View the Post

June 2022: Six Scarves, 12 Months

June 1, 2022

Was May the longest month ever?

 

Finally - the weather got warm! So I think that our heroines are going to need a couple of light tops, and a pair of shorts or cropped pants. Sandals, a bracelet, and a good tote bag will equip them for farmers' market shopping or other errands...

This wardrobe remains coherent and versatile - which is our goal!

And I love these accessories!

Any time you buy ANY piece of clothing, your first project - before you take off any tags! - is to see how many different ways you can wear your new garment. If you can't do at least 2 or 3 different things with a new purchase, you need to think VERY seriously about keeping it...

I still love this next scarf, ... View the Post